| Northern Illinois Sports Beat http://www.northernillinoissportsbeat.com |
| NISB - Always a Work in Progress |
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| Those Who Know Northern Illinois High School Sports Know about NISB! |
I would like to welcome you to Northern Illinois Sports Beat! We have been alive and well
since June 15, 2004 when there was a need for a website of this nature. Part of the reason
why this website has survived is because of it's continuous service to the high schools of
Northern Illinois, and the support we have received from it.
Our roots go back to a website called NCIC Preps, created by Matt Gingrich in 1997. That
site soon changed its name to NCI Preps and ran until 2004. Five days after the shutdown
of NCI Preps, an NCI Preps message board poster, Cody Cutter, started Northern Illinois
Sports Beat to take its place. Northern Illinois Sports Beat kept the same message boards
and even expanded on the content somewhat.
Northern Illinois Sports Beat is a high school sports web site for the purpose of compiling
information about Northern Illinois High School Sports. This web site is NOT school or
schools, conference or conferences in the state of Illinois or with any other web site.
Those in the know about Northern Illinois high school sports know about Northern Illinois
Sports Beat. Through message boards, stories, features and blogs, Northern Illinois Sports
Beat* is all about high school sports.
*Not affiliated with Northern Illinois University (NIU)
In the five years of existence of NISB there had been many features arrive and go, as well
as types of message boards. NISB has had three different types of message boards, and
currently they are provided by ProBoards. There was also a shortening of NISB's domain
name, and later a domain name of its own.
Our mission is to provide the best coverage for high school sports in Northern Illinois. On
the website, you will find the following available to you at NO cost:
Message Boards
Pick'ems
College Bound Athletes
High School Histories
Recent News Stories (like the ones you see in the newspaper)
Recent Feature Stories, Game Articles, and other special features
Web Links to area sports web pages
Web Links to area team web pages
... and a whole LOT more!
High School Sports are always going to be a staple of the communities of Northern Illinois.
Thank you for your patronizing your high schools athletic events, and if you haven't, I'd
encourage you to do so. These athletes and students are your future, and parents,
watching them grow is a wonderful sight to see. In a Class 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A school, the
years in high school are the best ones of your life.
The #1 way people come to NISB is by spreading the word. Please know that I will NEVER
intend to force anyone to spread the word, but it is more than certainly welcome.
The success of Northern Illinois Sports Beat cannot happen without YOU, the viewer! NISB
has passed 150,000 hits on the main page and the message boards are over 1,000,000
hits. It's okay to up the ante a bit.
So, do you like what you're seeing? Want to help out by spreading the word about Northern
Illinois Sports Beat?
I have NISB business cards, flyers, and flyer business information for you if you would like it.
They are free of charge. The business cards, which come in a page of ten, are the same
ones I hand out to coaches and players that I interview ... you know, to tell them exactly
where I'm from. The flyers are made to be fringe-cut, available to be posted at any bulletin
board. The flyer business information is something you can hand to the business you are
posting your flyer at. That way they think you are not someone who just wants attention.
The cards and flyers have some color on them.
All three are available, just by "contacting us" in the button on the navigation bar.
You'll be sent a file through the E-mail that contains whatever you asked for. From that
point on, you can print, copy and forward as many times as you want.We are always looking
for ways to improve the status of the website. Please do not hesitate to E-mail us if you
have a question or comment.
Thank you for visiting, and I hope you keep coming back!
Important Dates in NISB History:
June 15, 2004 – Cutter creates a new NCIpreps.com. However, after realizing the name
was still in use by the former organization that ran it, it was changed to Northern Illinois
Sports Beat. Network54 provided the NISB Message Boards, which for the first time had a
loose geographic boundary that was considered an expansion of the traditional NCIPreps
boundaries.
August 30, 2004 – After realizing that NCIPreps was gone for good, and missing the sports
coverage after leaving the local newspaper, Cutter would create a reconstruction, as what
was first considered an extension of NISB, of what NCIPreps was like in its days on Rivals.
com: Message Boards, news stories, Athlete Q&A’s, photo galleries, and more. The
message boards would then simply become a feature of Northern Illinois Sports Beat, along
with the text features. Yahoo! Geocities provided the website.
Fall 2004 –
First story: NCIC Golf Season Preview
First Athlete Q&A: Lisa R. of the Sterling Girls Golf team
First game article: Bureau Valley Football defeats Sterling Newman @ SHS
First Team Spotlight: Fulton Volleyball
February 12, 2005 – NISB covers the 8th Annual National City Hoops Showdown at NIU’s
Convocation Center. This was considered the first major event covered by NISB. A game
article of the Rockford Jefferson win over Rochelle is written, along with a Q&A with
Jefferson’s Robert Eppinger.
June 4, 2005 – NISB covers its first State Tournament: the Class A State Softball
Tournament in East Peoria. Rock Island Alleman loses in the quarterfinals to Williamsfield,
while Rockridge defeats Beecher, Pickneyville and Williamsfield to win the state
championship.
June 15, 2005 – NISB’s first anniversary is set. A change of message boards from
Network54 to Cjb.net was made in order to rid of advertisement difficulty.
Fall 2005 – The “Northern Illinois Sports Beat Report” debuts on EdgyTim.com. Written by
Cutter each week of football, news and stories about area football is told to a Chicago-
based audience.
Winter 2005-06 – NISB partnered with StreatorSports.com to provide news to the Streator
and Northern Illinois community.
Spring 2006 – NISB Baseball Q&A with Seth Blair. Blair gets drafted by the Oakland
Athletics in the 47th round in 2007 and was projected to be as high as compensation first
round. In the Q&A, he makes mention of his dreams to become a major league baseball
player.
June 15, 2006 – Technological changes made to NISB: new message boards and shorter
main page URL. Boundaries shrink, axing several far schools including Rockridge,
Johnsburg, and Princeville.
Summer 2006 – Northern Illinois Sports Beat becomes an officially recognized IHSA Media
outlet, giving it all-access coverage to state final events. Also during the summer, NISB is
mentioned for the first time in a newspaper, when the Ottawa Times writes about NISB’s
predictions
for NCIC Reagan Football.
February 16-17, 2007 – NISB covers Rockford Boylan at the Class AA Boys Basketball
State Tournament, marking NISB’s first appearance at “America’s Original March Madness.”
June 15, 2007 – Third State of the Site Address: Advances in technological areas noted,
cuts in features and plans to cover the State Football playoffs are announced (as of 2009,
NISB has been unable to cover them).
January 8, 2008 - The practice of writing game articles is put on hold in favor of more
feature stories and columns, a practice which continued into the next school year. Game
articles would eventually come back with the start of the 2009-10 school year.
October 25, 2008 – Northern Illinois Sports Beat's first appearance on radio. Cody is a
guest on EdgyTim.com's playoff pairings night on WJOL radio in Joliet, discussing the
area's playoff outlook.
June 15, 2009 - A new and improved Northern Illinois Sports Beat website is launched,
which has its own domain name. Storage space becomes a non-issue. The launch comes
during the fifth anniversary of the site's inception.
January 26, 2010 – It isn't just Cody anymore. After having a couple of contributors in the
past for only a short time, NISB begins to have regular contributors to help write stories.
June 15, 2010 – Changes in coverage philosophy are part of a Restructuring Plan. The
changes are made to NISB in order to establish better relations with the print press in the
“Print vs. Online” debate. Also created is a Transition Plan, establishing future plans for the
website.
since June 15, 2004 when there was a need for a website of this nature. Part of the reason
why this website has survived is because of it's continuous service to the high schools of
Northern Illinois, and the support we have received from it.
Our roots go back to a website called NCIC Preps, created by Matt Gingrich in 1997. That
site soon changed its name to NCI Preps and ran until 2004. Five days after the shutdown
of NCI Preps, an NCI Preps message board poster, Cody Cutter, started Northern Illinois
Sports Beat to take its place. Northern Illinois Sports Beat kept the same message boards
and even expanded on the content somewhat.
Northern Illinois Sports Beat is a high school sports web site for the purpose of compiling
information about Northern Illinois High School Sports. This web site is NOT school or
schools, conference or conferences in the state of Illinois or with any other web site.
Those in the know about Northern Illinois high school sports know about Northern Illinois
Sports Beat. Through message boards, stories, features and blogs, Northern Illinois Sports
Beat* is all about high school sports.
*Not affiliated with Northern Illinois University (NIU)
In the five years of existence of NISB there had been many features arrive and go, as well
as types of message boards. NISB has had three different types of message boards, and
currently they are provided by ProBoards. There was also a shortening of NISB's domain
name, and later a domain name of its own.
Our mission is to provide the best coverage for high school sports in Northern Illinois. On
the website, you will find the following available to you at NO cost:
Message Boards
Pick'ems
College Bound Athletes
High School Histories
Recent News Stories (like the ones you see in the newspaper)
Recent Feature Stories, Game Articles, and other special features
Web Links to area sports web pages
Web Links to area team web pages
... and a whole LOT more!
High School Sports are always going to be a staple of the communities of Northern Illinois.
Thank you for your patronizing your high schools athletic events, and if you haven't, I'd
encourage you to do so. These athletes and students are your future, and parents,
watching them grow is a wonderful sight to see. In a Class 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A school, the
years in high school are the best ones of your life.
The #1 way people come to NISB is by spreading the word. Please know that I will NEVER
intend to force anyone to spread the word, but it is more than certainly welcome.
The success of Northern Illinois Sports Beat cannot happen without YOU, the viewer! NISB
has passed 150,000 hits on the main page and the message boards are over 1,000,000
hits. It's okay to up the ante a bit.
So, do you like what you're seeing? Want to help out by spreading the word about Northern
Illinois Sports Beat?
I have NISB business cards, flyers, and flyer business information for you if you would like it.
They are free of charge. The business cards, which come in a page of ten, are the same
ones I hand out to coaches and players that I interview ... you know, to tell them exactly
where I'm from. The flyers are made to be fringe-cut, available to be posted at any bulletin
board. The flyer business information is something you can hand to the business you are
posting your flyer at. That way they think you are not someone who just wants attention.
The cards and flyers have some color on them.
All three are available, just by "contacting us" in the button on the navigation bar.
You'll be sent a file through the E-mail that contains whatever you asked for. From that
point on, you can print, copy and forward as many times as you want.We are always looking
for ways to improve the status of the website. Please do not hesitate to E-mail us if you
have a question or comment.
Thank you for visiting, and I hope you keep coming back!
Important Dates in NISB History:
June 15, 2004 – Cutter creates a new NCIpreps.com. However, after realizing the name
was still in use by the former organization that ran it, it was changed to Northern Illinois
Sports Beat. Network54 provided the NISB Message Boards, which for the first time had a
loose geographic boundary that was considered an expansion of the traditional NCIPreps
boundaries.
August 30, 2004 – After realizing that NCIPreps was gone for good, and missing the sports
coverage after leaving the local newspaper, Cutter would create a reconstruction, as what
was first considered an extension of NISB, of what NCIPreps was like in its days on Rivals.
com: Message Boards, news stories, Athlete Q&A’s, photo galleries, and more. The
message boards would then simply become a feature of Northern Illinois Sports Beat, along
with the text features. Yahoo! Geocities provided the website.
Fall 2004 –
First story: NCIC Golf Season Preview
First Athlete Q&A: Lisa R. of the Sterling Girls Golf team
First game article: Bureau Valley Football defeats Sterling Newman @ SHS
First Team Spotlight: Fulton Volleyball
February 12, 2005 – NISB covers the 8th Annual National City Hoops Showdown at NIU’s
Convocation Center. This was considered the first major event covered by NISB. A game
article of the Rockford Jefferson win over Rochelle is written, along with a Q&A with
Jefferson’s Robert Eppinger.
June 4, 2005 – NISB covers its first State Tournament: the Class A State Softball
Tournament in East Peoria. Rock Island Alleman loses in the quarterfinals to Williamsfield,
while Rockridge defeats Beecher, Pickneyville and Williamsfield to win the state
championship.
June 15, 2005 – NISB’s first anniversary is set. A change of message boards from
Network54 to Cjb.net was made in order to rid of advertisement difficulty.
Fall 2005 – The “Northern Illinois Sports Beat Report” debuts on EdgyTim.com. Written by
Cutter each week of football, news and stories about area football is told to a Chicago-
based audience.
Winter 2005-06 – NISB partnered with StreatorSports.com to provide news to the Streator
and Northern Illinois community.
Spring 2006 – NISB Baseball Q&A with Seth Blair. Blair gets drafted by the Oakland
Athletics in the 47th round in 2007 and was projected to be as high as compensation first
round. In the Q&A, he makes mention of his dreams to become a major league baseball
player.
June 15, 2006 – Technological changes made to NISB: new message boards and shorter
main page URL. Boundaries shrink, axing several far schools including Rockridge,
Johnsburg, and Princeville.
Summer 2006 – Northern Illinois Sports Beat becomes an officially recognized IHSA Media
outlet, giving it all-access coverage to state final events. Also during the summer, NISB is
mentioned for the first time in a newspaper, when the Ottawa Times writes about NISB’s
predictions
for NCIC Reagan Football.
February 16-17, 2007 – NISB covers Rockford Boylan at the Class AA Boys Basketball
State Tournament, marking NISB’s first appearance at “America’s Original March Madness.”
June 15, 2007 – Third State of the Site Address: Advances in technological areas noted,
cuts in features and plans to cover the State Football playoffs are announced (as of 2009,
NISB has been unable to cover them).
January 8, 2008 - The practice of writing game articles is put on hold in favor of more
feature stories and columns, a practice which continued into the next school year. Game
articles would eventually come back with the start of the 2009-10 school year.
October 25, 2008 – Northern Illinois Sports Beat's first appearance on radio. Cody is a
guest on EdgyTim.com's playoff pairings night on WJOL radio in Joliet, discussing the
area's playoff outlook.
June 15, 2009 - A new and improved Northern Illinois Sports Beat website is launched,
which has its own domain name. Storage space becomes a non-issue. The launch comes
during the fifth anniversary of the site's inception.
January 26, 2010 – It isn't just Cody anymore. After having a couple of contributors in the
past for only a short time, NISB begins to have regular contributors to help write stories.
June 15, 2010 – Changes in coverage philosophy are part of a Restructuring Plan. The
changes are made to NISB in order to establish better relations with the print press in the
“Print vs. Online” debate. Also created is a Transition Plan, establishing future plans for the
website.